Waterproof object or article and process of producing the same



June 15,1926. 1,588,617

. f N. A. ROS;

WATERPROOF OBJECT 0R ARTICLE AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING THEv SAME Filed Sept.A l. 1923 l Patented June 15, 1926.

UNITED STATESv lPATENT OFFICE.

WATERPROOF OBJECT OIR. ARTICLE AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING THE SAME.

Application led September 1, 1923. Serial No. 660,632.

This inventionrelates to waterproof objects or articles and particularly to tough An object of the invention is to provide ,A a waterproof wood -orarticle formed there- 4as sour gum, cotton gum, etc.

of which will have the toughness of we od with the resiliency of ivory. Morespeclfically, an object of the invention is to provide a tough and resilient golf-club head which is unaffected by moisture.

` According to m invention, I secure a resilient, tough 'an waterproof material by the impregation of a wood of line and substantiall uniform texture with a synthetic resin. he only satisfactory woods of this type of which Iam now aware are 'the' woods of the genus Nyssa, commonly known In these woods the fibrous structure or cells are remarkably uniform, with no marked difference in the size of the elements at the annual rings. These woods are also characterized by their freedom from parenchyma and ligne-cellulose and by the fineness of the tracheal elements and lack of the medullary rays which are characteristic of most exogenous plants. The substantlally umform and homogeneous composition of these woods with their utter lack of natural resln allows a read and uniform impregnation with a fluid p enolic resin and when th1s 1s subsequently hardened by heat and' pressure the resultant roduct is a mass of tough wood fibers w ich are reinforced andrendered Waterproof and resilient ,by the phenolic resin: a product so vdifferent from the result obtained by the impregnation of other woods as to form anew material.

In"forming a waterproof `golf-club head, I prefer to shape the head-and form the holes forV 'receiving the shaft and welghts rbefore ,impregnating the wood. The holes assist in the ready impregnation o f ,the wood, and small holes may be drilled 1n the head at other points, if desired, to facilitate the impregnation. Afterimpregnation Awith a fluidphenolic resin, preferably by immersion and under pressure, such auxilia holes may be closed with plugs formed of t e same wood as the club-head before the phenolic resin is hardened by heatV anda I pressure.

In the accompanying drawings y Fig. l'is a perspective view of a golf-club head; and l FFig. 2 i's a vertical section on line 2 2 of In the drawings, the golf-club head which is indicated by the numeral l is formed of a.' wood having the very line and substantially uniform texture which is found in the genus Nyssa. The head l is'provided with an opening`2 for receiving the shaft and an opening 3 L for receiving weights. If desired, additional holes'l ma be drilled into the head at points remote rom openings 2 and 3 to provide for the ready introduction of the mpregnating fluid into the wood. After the shaping and drilling of the club head 1, it is completely and uniformly saturated with a suitable phenolic resin by ximmersion under pressure'. Following the satv uration, the, holes fl of the head `are filled with plugsv 5, preferably of the same material as the head and similarly saturated, vand the phenolic resin is hardened by heat and pressure according to known methods. When the phenolic resin has hardened the lead weight v6Y may be cast in the opening 3 in the usualmanner. Uwin to the fac-t that the hardened'phenolic reslns are infusible at and above the melting point of lead,

the molten lead ma be cast 1n lace without disturbing the uni ormity of t e impregnat1on.

Golf-club headsproduced by my process are remarkably tough and resilient' and cannotshrink or swell due to moisture absorption since the impregnation with a phenolic resin renders the head waterproof. When rthe wood is properly chosen, the resulting golf-club hea throughout and combines fthe qualities of the customary ivory inserts with the strength and. toughness of the wood. It might be sup posed'that a satisfactory materialforygolfclub heads and for other articles which are subject to sudden shocks or strains could be' produced by impregnating many of the natural woods with a phenolic resin. It is a remarkable fact, however, that Ithe woods, which in their natural condition, possess properties which adapt them for such uses are found to lose some of these properties when rendered waterproof by impregnation with a phenolic resin. Although I have not made a Ithorough examination and com arison of the structures and properties o the woods which become brittle or inelastic when impregnated'and the structures and properties of those woods which are tough and reis'substantially homogeneous While I have described the invention with reference to a golf-club head, it Will be understood that other articles which must be tough, resilient and free from swelling or,

warping can be manufactured from impregnated woods of the genus Nyssa, and that the impregnating material may be a phenolic or other synthetic resin.

I claim 1. A golf-club head comprising vvood of usarsi# the genus Nyssa impregnated with a phenol- 1c resin. v-

2. A golf-club head, lthe striking face of which comprises Wood of the genus Nyssa impregnated with a phenolic resin.

3. A golf-club, the striking face of which comprises Wood of the genus Nyssa impregnated with a synthetic resin.

NEWTON AUGUSTUS ROSE. 

